Tips for Taking Your Dog Out on a Boat

Great weather IS a great time for everybody to go out of doors. Not just people but pets as well. You could do all sorts of fun activities outdoors such as camping, swimming, hiking or even sailing. While going on these activities it would be great if you can bring your dogs along right? You can have so much fun with your pet during a boating activity and your dog in turn will have lots of fun in this adventure also. Nowadays lots of dog owners are already bringing their dogs out to sea with them.

While it is great to be able to bring your dog out on a boat to go sailing, it would be best if you can think about some safety precautions as well to avoid instances of drowning and other dog accidents on board a boat that might possibly ruin what is supposed to be a great day out on sea.

Here are a few important points to consider when planning a boat ride with your dogs:

If you are planning on doing a little fishing while going on a boat adventure with your dog, be sure to keep all of your fishing gear in a safe place that is unreachable by your dog. Dogs are curious about everything so he might get a little bit curious of the bait and hooks and possibly hurt himself while checking those things out. This could really hurt your dog.

Make sure that your dog has his own retreat place for when the sun is too hot for him. Bring along his water bowl and lots of fresh water also for him to drink. Dogs do get dehydrated and in order to avoid this, he will need access to fresh water all the time. Don’t let your dog drink lots of salt water. This is not a good thing for him.

Once you get your dog on board the boat, you have to be able to watch him especially when the boat is moving. If this is your dog’s first time, he might get antsy or nervous so it is important to be there to soothe the dog if he is scared. You would want him to enjoy his sailing experience and not the opposite. If after the first time, he is still scared of the boat then it might be a good idea to leave him home the next time that you go boating. You can always try again at other times to get your dog to come boating and be more comfortable with sailing.

It is very important that when your dog is out at sea that you equip him with a PFD (Pet Flotation Device). Regardless if your dog’s breed is adept at water and no matter your dogs’ size, you should make them wear the PFD. This will also help to lessen anxiety on your part. The PFD is really helpful especially if your dog goes overboard accidentally then this will really help. Even if your dog loves the water, the sea is a very different environment compared to a pool or tub and dogs sometimes don’t realize this so a PFD really comes in handy.

Understand that your dog does not have protection on his paws. The boat’s deck might be too hot for his paws so do check out the temperature of the boats’ deck periodically.

When you go boating and want to check out an island then be on the lookout for your dog too. You have to remember that he is not wearing any protection on his paws and he might get stung by crabs or other sharp things on the beach that might hurt him and ruin his experience. Please also be a good pet owner and make sure that when your dog poos, that you pick it up and dispose of his waste properly.

Set some limits on the time that your dog spends playing on sand and swimming in the sea. Don’t let him get too exhausted.

The tips are just some of the ways that you can make your boating experience with your dog more enjoyable and safe and free of any anxiety and bad experiences. After all you would want to have a really great time with your dog out on the sea and give him a wonderful time as well with you.